Naruto: In Death
by Daemon Sadi
Summary: Just another crossover idea.. Naruto dies. What now? - Don't own anything.


When people die the world keeps on moving as it is wont to do. For the person's aquaintences it might seem as though it doesn't, but in the "great scheme of things", a single person's death is very seldom of great consequences.

There are exceptions to this, however.

From time to time the world brings forth persons who take it upon themselves to try to bring change. People who don't like the way the world works, whose mind is set to make it a better place – not necessarily for themselves, but for all of humankind. These are the few whose premature death actually does stop the world for a moment as it acknowledges the loss.

This is why, when Uzumaki Naruto's body was crushed by the hands of the individual known as Pain, his dying moments seemed to stretch on forever. After all that time spent training with his teacher Jiraiya of the Sannin, after all that time being trained by one of the best in not only taijutsu, ninjutsu and fuinjutsu, but also in kenjutsu, chakra control and whatever else the old hermit was able to come up with, Naruto came to realize that it just hadn't been enough.

He had given this fight his everything, but in the end it just didn't matter against the sheer power of Pain – he might as well just have spent the last years frolicking as his teacher for all the good the training had done him.

Bitterly accepting the inevitable, Naruto slowly closed his eyes and went to have one last chat with the Kyuubi.

* * *

For a long time the two just looked at each other. Neither wanted to die right here, right now, but both saw that they no longer had a say in this – they had done their parts.

After a long sigh, Naruto finally said, "well.. This is it then, eh, Furball?"

"**This is it, indeed.. If you took off the seal now, I could lay waste on this 'Pain', though.. as a parting gift, if you will,**" was the reply of the being with the deep, rumbling voice.

Naruto chuckled weakly, "Heh.. as if that was an option. After all, while Pain might be able to destroy Konoha, I doubt he would lay waste on the world as you no doubt would. Taking you with me is the lesser evil."

"**I guess I can see where you come from. Well, it has been an interesting experience, being sealed inside you that is.. I wonder what the Maker has to say after all this time,**" the Kyuubi grumbled lowly, resignation lacing it's voice.

This confused the young shinobi somewhat, but he figured, he had other things to worry about. '_Just what will become of me now?,_" he thought, as slowly, the representation of his being became transparent.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, or truly anyone but the Almighty, his death had dire consequences for the living - and for the dead. For when a person dies, he/she is judged for the life he/she lived and, if found worthy, the soul is send on to exist in the realm of the Almighty.

If, however, the person is found unworthy, one of two things might happen.

In case they led a truly terrible live, murdering, raping and overall indulging in violence, their souls are send to Hell, where they shall suffer for their crimes.

Should they have lived a completely inconspicuous life, failing to even scratch the potential of their lives, they will, in time, be allowed another chance at live. Until there is a chance for them to be sent back, however, they are forced to wait, existing, for that duration, in a place called Soul Society – either as shinigami or pure souls.

Some souls, however, unwittingly escape judgment. There are many reasons for this, they might be too bound to their lives, or they have "unfinished business", or they don't accept that they are dead, or.. There are _many_ possible reasons.

If not tended to, these souls will in time be corrupted, turning into creatures known as Hollows devouring other souls – both living and dead.

To stop these beings, some pure souls waiting to be reborn are given supernatural powers – the before mentioned shinigami. By slaying the hollows with their powers they purge the corruption of the soul and send it and the souls it consumed on to be judged. At the same time they patrol earth and try to find the souls that weren't judged before they can even turn into hollows.

All this, however, would have been stopped by the death of Uzumaki Naruto, if not for divine intervention.

Naruto couldn't be judged. While he lead the life of a shinobi, he had never murdered and remained pure – for this he should have been send to the Almighty. At the same time, however, his connection to the Kyuubi, a being that knew only violence and had killed many thousands, didn't dissolve even in death.

Because of this Naruto was a paradox - a being meant for two different realms. If the Almighty himself hadn't intervened, the connection between the realms would have been broken. All the souls on earth would have lost the ability to move on and would eventually have become one massive hollow, while everyone in Soul Society would have lost their ability to be reborn – existing forever as either shinigami or pure souls.

As such the Almighty had no choice, but to intervene.

When Naruto awoke next, he found himself in what seemed to be a desert. What he didn't know was that he had been turned into a hollow.

He would later decide that he would become the most powerful hollow to ensure that those like him would never again hurt a living being.

He would build a fortress from which he oversaw _his_ realm with the help of his most trusted companions – his Espada.

After many centuries, however, an army lead by Aizen would dethrone him, replacing him with a hollow by the name of Baraggan Luisenbarn who was to rule until Aizen was through with his plans for Soul Society.

Escaping as only survivior, Naruto would flee to earth to make a deal with Soul Society. Fighting alongside the shinigami Naruto would after many years be able to reclaim his realm...


End file.
